[Strawbale] Oak debarking

[Rob Tom]

On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:04:26 -0400, Barbara Roemer & Glenn Miller  
<roemiller at infostations.net> wrote:

> Speireag, you wrote:
>
>>      Just felled some oak (northern red), which, starting in a few
>> weeks, will act as posts for the extension of the roof.
>>
>> SNIP
>
> We debark immediately - whenever everything is still juicy, using a draw
> knife with the logs stacked to a comfortable height.


I'm with Babs on this one. Juicy = loosey.

Except I don't think that I'd care to use a drawknife.

I don't have a barking spud but I do have a slick (a tool (which one wag  
called a "spear") from my timber-framing days) and it along with a framing  
hatchet (another timber-framer's tool) made de-barking red oak logs a  
breeze.

And I don't think that I'd stop at just the bark, with red oak logs. I'd  
keep going till all of the sapwood is removed, both for bug/rot-resistance  
sake and for appearance.

Also, controlled drying and a stress-relieving longitudinal kerf is key to  
minimising checks & splits.

Actually, I'm not even sure that I'd care to use red oak for an exterior  
application since it doesn't do all that well in such. White oak, "yes".  
(White pine or cedar would probably be a better choice. Save the red oak  
for an interior application.)

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at   C h a f f Y a h o o  dot  C a  >
(winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply)